Memories

Shortly after I started writing this column, we had a barn cat mama that had a predator of some kind destroy her den and kill all but one of her kittens. It was a horrible trauma for her. She showed up at the house with one tiny kitten about 3-weeks-old. The saddest part was that she couldn’t settle enough to nurse the kitten. She had been so traumatized that her world was really messed up. In a human, we would say she had severe PTSD.
I hoped that a few days would settle her down, but after two days of listening to this poor kitten cry from hunger and lack of comfort, I could take it no more. I went out to the sheep wagon where she had decided it was safe and took the kitten away from her to raise it myself. I am not sure she even cared — that was close to 20 years ago.
The kitten was named Lucy, after Lucille Ball because she was spunky, a little ornery, and she made me laugh. Well, the spunk turned into a lot more than spunk. The granddaughters were staying here a lot at the time and we all learned that, when playing with Lucy, there would come a point of no return when she would switch from being playful to downright mean. At that point, the only thing to do was give her a substitute to attack or she was going to shred some hands, arms, or feet. One of the girls had brought out a stuffed dragon she had won in a claw game machine. She really liked that little brightly colored dragon, even naming it “Dragonee.” Well, Dragonee became Lucy’s toy of choice to attack, so we always kept him handy. Over the months, she managed to totally destroy the little dragon: his wings were in pieces and he was missing one ear completely.
Lucy outgrew the volatility of that behavior and grew to where she was brave enough to attack another cat or a dog. When she would start getting spicy, the other animals would all hide or they would get ready to fight back because although Lucy was quite spunky and obnoxious sounding, she was really a chicken at heart. She would only swat the dogs on the back or the behind. Never would she take one head on.
Lucy grew up to be a very healthy, loving cat that was mine. She tolerated others, but she was always my cat. She moved with us from the mobile home into the cabin and established her territory here in the cabin, too. She went to the vet once in her life to be spayed. That was it.
I was grateful to Kristin and Jennifer from Rising K Vet services for working it into their schedule to come to my house last week and help Lucy cross the Rainbow Bridge. That way I didn’t have to stress her by taking her somewhere she had never been before. It was a sad day, but it was also the memory of many years of fun and love and “nose kisses.”

Omelet Ole
4 tsp butter, divided
8 eggs, whisked
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese diced in small cubes
2 cups fresh spinach, cleaned and chopped
1 cup green chiles, roasted peeled, seeded and diced
Heat a small, non-stick omelet pan over medium-high heat until it is hot. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in the pan, add ¼ of the eggs, cook the omelet 4 minutes. To cook evenly pull the omelet from the sides of the pan with a spatula. Place ¼ of the cheese, spinach, and chiles on top. Reduce the heat to low and cover pan. Cook the omelet 2 minutes more, or until the ingredients are hot. Fold the omelet in half and serve. Repeat three more times.